Snow Blind - Lori G. Armstrong [103]
“How many clients have I slept with in the five years I’ve owned this agency? None. What was it about her? Why did she end up in my bed hours after we met?”
Rhetorical question, Julie.
“Her youth? Her vulnerability? Her looks? Her bodacious ta-tas? After we left the bar that first night, she couldn’t keep her hands off me. Why? I’m not some muscle-bound twentysomething gym rat. I’m not that goddamn smooth. Not particularly funny. But damn if she didn’t make me feel like all that and a bag of chips.
“I liked that she let me coddle her. Yet, I liked that she had a strong sense of self. I really liked that she appreciated those same traits in me. Or so I thought.”
“Is this what you were thinking about in Pierre?”
“Yeah. Mostly why something started to feel . . . off. Why she blew me off.”
“When?”
“Right away, the day after you found her grandfather. She turned into this nasty snappish bitch, all directed at me. Like I somehow let her down by not saving her grandfather.” He laughed bitterly. “At least that’s what I thought at the time. She apologized, blamed her reaction on stress, and threw me a bone—
literally.”
366
I lit another cigarette.
“Remember the night we went to Dusty’s and I said I needed a break from her? That was a lie. She told me she needed time alone.”
“Oh.” My stomach churned with guilt. I hated he’d been hurt and I hated his male pride made him feel he had to deal with it on his own.
“So, I’ve had to ask myself: what was it about me that Amery saw as weak and malleable?”
“Kevin—”
“Sex aside, why didn’t I see her neediness as manipulation? I would have with any other woman.”
“Enough with the self-recrimination. Stick with the facts.”
“Which are?”
“You tell me.”
He squirmed. “I don’t have it all figured out yet.”
“Wrong. I’m betting you do. I’m betting you’re still dissecting this from every angle so you don’t feel like a chump before you knew about the inheritance. Or you’re trying to formulate a reasonable excuse as to why Amery acted so cold and calculating. You see the best in people, Kev. I don’t. Voicing your honest frustrations won’t change how I see you.”
A flare resembling gratitude briefly shone in his eyes. “Fine. Near as I can figure, Amery hired us as a cover. We proved her worries about Prairie Gardens were founded. Someone on the inside was taking financial advantage of her grandfather and the place 367
had extremely lax security. She could’ve used both those documented problems to take it to court to file for power of attorney. Initially, I thought that’s all she wanted.”
“But now?”
“Now that I know about the pile of money? I think she was out to get rid of Vernon all along so she could get her grubby hands on the inheritance. And wasn’t it handy she was cozied up with me during the storm, ensuring the perfect alibi?”
“Playing devil’s advocate here, but Amery didn’t cause the blizzard.”
“No, but she used it to her advantage. She left here right after you told her how upset Vernon was, remember? Probably saw it as her chance to confuse him further.”
“I’d forgotten that. What time did she show up at your place?”
“Damn near six hours later. Was it a coincidence she ‘forgot’ her cell phone at the office when she was snowed in with me? And no one could get in touch with her?”
I blew a smoke ring. “Do you think she actually led him out to freeze to death?”
“Yes. With him dead, not only does she inherit, she has a strong lawsuit against the negligent facility. It’s twice the windfall. And I handed it to her on a silver fucking platter.”
God, this was ugly.
368
“Say something,” Kev demanded.
“So she manipulated you. It happens. People have killed for way less than five million dollars.”
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”
“No. But, believe it or not, Amery’s not the only one with a motive.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Luella Spotted Tail.”
“What the fuck? Why would you think Luella
had anything to gain, especially since Linderman told you who Sloane’s sole beneficiary was? Amery.”
“Now, see? This is where I learned my critical thinking